Jed … Jed,” I heard a voice call behind me.

I turned to see Zoey Lewis jogging down my street toward my house.

I smiled expectantly and waited for her to reach me. She was wearing a T-shirt that said, Writers do it better, with jeans, and her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was naturally beautiful, didn’t look like she had an infant daughter, and was the love of my friend Gabe’s life.

She grinned her goofy smile as she stopped in front of me, her breath coming out in pants.

“You okay?” I asked with a chuckle as she bent and placed her hands on her knees.

“Yeah,” Zoey said with a shake of her head. “Cheese and rice, this is embarrassing. Looks like it’s time to start running again, I’m woefully out of shape.”

I waited for her to catch her breath, curious as to why she’d been so eager to catch me. She’d been coming from the direction of Reardon and Chloe’s, so I assumed she’d been visiting her sister and was maybe on her way to see Serena, but we’d never talked one on one before. Every time I’d seen her we’d been in a group, or she’d been with Gabe.

“Okay, I think I’m good now,” she said, standing back up.

“Can I get you anything? Water?” I asked, unsure if I should invite her inside, or if that would be weird.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I’m good.”

When she didn’t say anything, just stood in front of me staring over my shoulder as if deep in thought, I cleared my throat and asked, “Uh, Zoey … is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

Zoey blinked, shook her head, and looked at me sheepishly.

“Sorry, yeah … um,” she began, rocking back on her heels. “So, my agent contacted me because she has another client who has a new show … anyway, long story short … Have you ever seen that show Fix it Up on the Home Network?”

I nodded. I didn’t watch a lot of TV, but I’d seen that show. It was one of those home improvement shows where a crew came in and refurbished a home for one lucky family.

“Cool. Well, they are coming to Cherry Springs to film an episode and will be here a couple weeks while they refurbish the home of one of our residents. Do you know that Camu family?”

I shook my head.

“Doesn’t matter,” Zoey said with a wave of her hand. “Anyway, they love to use local businesses, and people, wherever they’re shooting, and since I live here, my agent asked me for recommendations. Naturally, I thought you would be perfect to help with the carpentry. Not only would it give you the chance to work on a highly visible show and showcase your talent, but they’ll include the name of your business in the credits of the episode, so … free advertising.”

“Wow,” I managed, utterly floored by the opportunity she was giving me. My heart pounded as I thought about what this could do for my business. If it worked out well, I could finally quit construction and focus solely on my creations. “That sounds fantastic, Zoey, thank you for thinking of me. Is there anything I need to do, anyone I need to call, or meet?”

“Yay!” Zoey exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “This is great. No, not yet. I’ll pass your information along, then the show will be in contact you to let you know when you’ll start and to work out the particulars.”

“Perfect, thanks.”

Zoey beamed.

“I’m headed to Serena’s next,” she said, already turning her feet toward Serena’s house.

“Oh?” I asked, wondering if that meant she was offering Serena the same opportunity, or just going over for a visit.

“Yeah, I figured, with her eye for décor and art, and her managing the gallery, this would be a great way to get the word out about the new gallery as well. Whatever we can do to bring more tourism to Cherry Springs, right?”

I nodded, although I was pretty happy with how low key of a town Cherry Springs was. Still, getting more business for the town, and for myself, could only mean good things. Even if that meant I’d have to work on the same show as Serena Lewis.

It wouldn’t be that long, right? And, we probably wouldn’t really even see each other, since I’d be working carpentry and she’d be finding decorations.

“Right,” I agreed, then stuck my hand out, shaking Zoey’s when her slender hand grasped mine, and said, “Thank you,” again.

“It’s my pleasure, seriously,” Zoey assured me, then bounced on her heel and started walking hurriedly down the path in front of Serena’s. “See you later.”

I stood there for a moment, watching her walk away without really watching her. I was in my head, thinking, all the possibilities darting through my mind, while I warned myself not to get too excited. After all, I didn’t have all the details yet, and had no idea whether they would want me, how much air time I’d get, or what the job would actually entail.

Still, the possibilities had adrenaline pumping through my veins, and inspiration striking, so I rushed through the house and back to my workshop, glancing over at the boat wood.

I clasped my hands together as an idea started to take hold, then turned on my speaker, hooked up the music, and got down to business.